Randy Sutton

Randy Sutton is a 33-year law enforcement veteran, a trainer, and the national spokesman for The American Council on Public Safety. He served 10 years with the Princeton (N.J.) Police Department and 23 years with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, retiring at the rank of lieutenant. He is an author who has published multiple books on law enforcement.

Smilin' Faces

On the Streets, You Better Beware the Disarming Smile

I forget our probable cause, although I'm sure we had some. The whereabouts of the traffic stop are but a vague recollection, but I do know that it took place in the unincorporated area of Monrovia, Calif.

The thing I do remember very well was the way the man cocked his head as though hanging onto every insightful word my then 22-year-old mind had to offer. That, and the way he stepped slightly to my right as he smiled that ingratiating smile at me.

The man and his friend were standing on a sidewalk near the friend's Oldsmobile. I was acting on my training officer's orders in getting their horsepower.

As I was fresh-out-of-patrol-school vigilant, sure that every octogenarian grandma was conspiring to first take my gun, then my life, his movements did not go unnoticed by me. With each step the man took, I compensated, stepping back myself with my right foot so as to rotate my gun hip away from him. After three such rotations, I finally—and quite belatedly—asserted my authority and told him to stand perfectly still. Grudgingly, he complied. I asked for his identification.

The man explained that he didn't have a driver's license, then presented me an old military ID. I stared at the faded black-and-white photo."Leroy Griffith, huh?"

At the mention of the man's name, my training officer extricated his upper torso from beneath the front seat of the Olds and told the two men to get in the wind.

Inside our patrol car, he explained his reason for abruptly cutting the line.

My training officer hadn't known Mr. Griffith by sight at least, not until just then only by reputation. For Mr. Griffith's deep and abiding contempt for deputies was well known around Temple Station. It was a hatred that found him routinely practicing weapon takeaways at nearby Pamela Park where the civic-minded Griffith would generously share his techniques with locals.

According to my t.o., Griffith had in fact nearly been shot and killed by a Temple deputy for acting on his conditioned instincts, thereby nearly averting such episodes for other cops. Unfortunately, discretion had prevailed after he'd succeeded in wrestling a deputy's gun from him only to find the barrel of a second deputy's revolver screwed in his ear and the slightly muffled words "Drop it!" filtrating around its bore.

I was glad that I hadn’t allowed him to get the angle on my gun waist. While I had been taught weapon retention techniques, the holster that carried my .38 revolver was by no means as secure as those that officers wear today. One sure as hell wouldn’t want to have gotten into a knock down, drag out fight over the weapon (which I nonetheless did years later, but that’s another story).

Was Mr. Griffith's hostility congenital in nature, or merely the predictable result of his less favorable contacts with deputies? Had the local shooting of a pregnant black woman by a deputy the year before had some impact on Griffith's frame of mind, or was he just one mean-spirited SOB?

No matter.

It's enough to know that at the time he was gunning for a cop and preferably with the cop's own gun. And for him, the act of disarming started with a disarming smile.

In 1971, the Undisputed Truth had a hit with the song "Smiling Faces." Whenever I hear that song, I think of Mr. Griffith's well-affected smile.

Now, to be fair, the song asserts that "your enemies won't do you no harm, because you know where they're coming from." But it's getting them identified and on radar in the first place that's the problem, and first impressions at least as they relate to smiling faces and our profession can be an iffy proposition, at best.

For the smile can be variously interpreted as an invitation, a deferral, a threat. Such cultural differences are part of the reason China is encouraging its participants to use the smile, a facial expression that has historically had far greater ambiguity to it to cater to Western sensibilities when they host the Olympics.

Back at home when dealing with strangers in the scope of your duties it's best to remember that other lyric from “Smiling Faces,” the one that also asserts that "smiling faces tell lies," then ask yourself: “Would I be smiling at me if I was this guy?”

In any event, be assertive, professional, and officer safety conscious.

Oh, and smile.

Recommended Stories

Comments (2)

Displaying 1 - 2 of 2

sonny @ 10/6/2007 1:02 AM

Great training piece. As an Instructor and a FTO, I feel that this field experience must be shared with our fellow officers especially the novice. I had almost a similar encounter with two young males, belonging to the South Side Posse. Unknown to me, one of the males had a 9mm stuck in his waistband. This subject complied to all of my orders with a smile and coolness. I asked this subject to turn around and place his hands on the trunk of his car. As I moved in for a pat down, this "so friendly young male" was not so friendly anymore, he reached for his weapon and I for mine, and the struggle ensued. I pinned this subject's hand with the weapon against the trunk lid of his vehicle and his body. A passerby good samaritan came to a screeching halt on the interstate and yelled, "Trooper, I have called 911." I was able to take this fella in custody with my weapon to his head. I walked the subject backwards to my unit keeping eye on the second subject whom had stepped out of the car at this point. I reached around and felt for the weapon in the subject's waistband and retrieved a fulled loaded ready to go 9mm Saturday Night Special. The serial number was filed off of the weapon. After arrest, BATF got involved and after investigation we found out that it was initiation week and the subject had to kill a Police Officer. The good lord was watching over me that day as HE does everyday. "Let's be Safe Out there!" I believe that sharing our experiences will help develop "Cautious Professional Officers".

cephas @ 11/12/2007 5:50 PM

How true.I have seen people from different walks of life that would smile at you and then chew you up and spit you out.I have seen managers and supervisors the same way.They remind me of the old childs cartoon about the mongoose and the cobra.THE cobra would smile at its victim and try to get it to make eye contact and then strike.

Loading...

Join the Discussion

POLICE Magazine does not tolerate comments that include profanity, personal attacks or antisocial behavior (such as "spamming" or "trolling"). This and other inappropriate content or material will be removed. We reserve the right to block any user who violates this, including removing all content posted by that user.

Other Recent Blog Posts

Yes! Please rush me my FREE TRIAL ISSUE of POLICE magazine and FREE Officer Survival Guide with tips and tactics to help me safely get out of 10 different situations.

Just fill in the form to the right and click the button to receive your FREE Trial Issue.

If POLICE does not satisfy you, just write "cancel" on the invoice and send it back. You'll pay nothing, and the FREE issue is yours to keep. If you enjoy POLICE, pay only $25 for a full one-year subscription (12 issues in all). Enjoy a savings of nearly 60% off the cover price!